1st smoke...

What are you smoking first of all?

Second... I don't think honey in the bowl will do a damn thing. Pack, cadence and patience are what you need to master. Don't be discouraged, you are not the first newbie to experience these things.

It may be wise to try a fairly benign tobacco for the maiden voyage. Use the gravity feed (pipe in left hand, drizzle small amounts of tobacco in the bowl, finger tamp lightly, light the pipe.....repeat as need to tamp and light). When I was learning the vagaries of smoking, I inserted a pipe cleaner in the stem before I started loading the pipe. That ensures a small air space at the bottom which enhances the draw.

Stay in saddle, buckeroo! Next times' better.

Congratulations for getting off the fence. One item to add to the above good advice is about it going out. When lighting the pipe your first match should dance over the entire surface of tobacco in the bowl while you draw down. Draw down a few times after the match is spent. Often it will soon go out although sometimes this is all that is needed. If it goes out, no foul. You have dried the upper tobacco making for a better light. Take tamper and ever so gently tamp the surface flat. The second match should have you up and running.

... it is a sure thing that you have packed it too tight, or you talketh too much. It takes a while to get the hang of talking and smoking a pipe at the same time. I suggest you hold the pipe in your hand if you are conversing. Otherwise, you'll forget you have the pipe in your mouth and speak, thus the pipe and hot embers hit the floor and you will have a mess on your hands and maybe need a fire truck!

Packing too loose can also result in tongue bite. You are getting lots of good advice in this topic. Good luck to you.

Yes, coating the bowl with honey may help build cake. But the added sugar and water (even after you let the honey dry) will just make the tongue bite worse. Instead, have a glass of neutral-flavored, somewhat acidic beverage close to hand: Tea or coffee work well.

Yes, you probably packed too tight. No worries: There is no problem with dumping out a bowl and starting fresh, if necessary.

As others have pointed out, cadence and "power" in your puffing are the big tricks. Getting the pack right is pretty easy. But schooling yourself to puff gently and slowly takes patience and time. Indeed, that discipline is part of the meditative benefit of pipe smoking! It is also one of the reasons, IMHO, that pipe smoking is not nearly as popular as cigarette smoking (which offers far less pleasure) or cigar smoking (which is quite expensive). It just required more thought and effort to get right! Personally, I _like_ putting that effort and thought into the process, and the payoff is deep pleasure. But it certainly will take some time to learn.

In brief: Everybody pushes too hard at first. We pack too tight, we puff too hard, and we puff too often. (Also, we tamp too hard and too often, but those are probably errors that you haven't made yet.) No problem--drink some tea, take a break, don't hurt yourself, and try again in a day or two. We've all been there and, indeed, I don't know anybody who doesn't occasionally go over the top and get a bit of bite even after years of piping. You're in fine company!

It is okay if your pipe goes out. Just re-light and move on. Eventually, after a lot of experimentation with packing and puffing, your number of re-lights will diminish. Do not let re-lights discourage you now. They happen. No big deal. Things will come naturally after time.

The tongue bite might be related to what you are smoking more than your method. What weed are you lighting up?

A little honey never hurt anyone. Laserboy and I disagree here, but taking a few DROPS of honey and coating the inside of your bowl (this is a very thin layer) will not make the pipe bite. This is not necessary with every pipe, but it will help a smooth bowl of raw wood. Pre-carbed bowls build cake like a champ without the honey.

I read of a pipe maker that uses his own secret sauce to coat the inside of every bowl he creates. I recall honey,grape jam and ash were mentioned but he guarded the exact formula. His article appeared in P&T magazine a couple years ago. Can't remember his name.

I have heard the grape jam thing before, though with jelly instead. Jam has seeds. Hey, it might go well with the Captain Bob's sauced, eh?

Even the factory literature that came with my Dunhill suggested honey on the inside of the bowl.

is a Tim West idea, bout the same as honey. Though I think if one is dedicating a pipe to CBB the grape jelly is the only way to fly.

your tobacco is too moist.

what were you smoking?

until that one special day when you realize you've just had a great smoke. I hate to admit it, but I believe it was a number of years on/off before my "WOW!" day.

... if you smoke CBB flavored or unflavored. When the hell are you guys gonna smoke that CBB I sent you. Aging it isn't necessarily gonna make it any better, you know!

and events beyond our control. The bridge collapsed last night and I am stranded on my island. However, I will have my row boat patched soon and expect to be rowing into the port of Providence early November. Said samples are vaulted and safe, I assure you.

Don't worry about the freshness issue - the mason jars are tightly sealed. Its looking like the next time Chris and I can get together will be around the beginning of the month.

Hey, once I took the tobacco out of those plastic containers most of the grape smell went away. Did you dip the lids in grape juice or something? The tobacco acutally smells much, much, much better now.

The tobacco is a local blend I believe, from a place called Briar and Bean. Nice place. Anyway I keep the tobacco in the sealed plastic bag it came in. The second go 'round seemed better but I am now out of matches. I will probably stew over it a while before another attempt, and do some more reading and learning in the mean time. Even if I never get the hang of this I will probably end up aquiring a few pipes just for their beauty and a sense of Old World leisure. Life is too hectic and even just having a pipe sitting on the mantel seems to slow it down somewhat.

Just one question. I have seen two or three references to CBB. What is that?

CBB is a personal blend of our own captain bob "captan bob's blend"...he gets it from C&D who will mix up just about anything you want them to mix up...but I would leave that for much later after you figure out what you like...

but on another note...do you have a jelly or other type of canning jar?...tobacco doesn't keep very long in a plastic bag. I take it that you have some renamed Lane aromatic blend...so there will be plenty of Propylene Glycol to keep it fresh for a while...but even so...a jar is better...and I would suggest going to your local drugstore...walgreens, rite-aid, lunds, Wal-Mart....whatever it is you have...but you will be able to get a pouch of Prince Albert ("PA")...and I would bet you will have much more success with that...regardless of how well you pack etc.

oh...another thing...One of the worst mistakes that people often make is smoking something by the way that they think it smells in the tin...later you will know what to expect by the smell in the tin...but for now, expect what you smoke to taste nothing like what you smell in the tin.

Cheers,

Josh

Ah. That explains a bit...

Rick, If you don't mind, I would prefer to restrain myself from answering your question until each of you have smoked from both samples. I hope that is ok with you guys. I want an honest objective review of the tobacco in each sample. Then I will answer your question. I realize that the containers have no markings. If you see fit, you may mark the containers as you wish for your own purposes in making a comparison. Just be honest and objective. That is all I ask. Enjoy your smokes.